


In Which Howl and Sophie See In the New Year

by bobblemonkey2



Category: Howl Series - Diana Wynne Jones, Howl no Ugoku Shiro | Howl's Moving Castle, Howl's Moving Castle - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fluffy, Howl laughing at Sophie's confusion, New Years Eve, One-Shot, Sophie being confused by Wales, festive, soppy but I don't care, very cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28409550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bobblemonkey2/pseuds/bobblemonkey2
Summary: Sophie and Howl travel to Wales to partake in the New Year's Eve festivities surrounded by the Jenkins family, though Sophie finds herself more terrified than charmed by some of the Welsh traditions.
Relationships: Mari Parry & Howl Pendragon, Megan Parry & Howl Pendragon, Sophie Hatter/Howl Pendragon, Sophie Hatter/Mari Parry
Comments: 14
Kudos: 91





	In Which Howl and Sophie See In the New Year

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry I've been inactive for so long!! Hope you enjoy this slightly festive one-shot, and wishing you all a Happy New Year! 
> 
> All characters belong to DWJ. Takes place after HMC but before CITA.

‘I feel like such a fool in this dress!’ Sophie exclaimed as she pulled down her dress that finished just above her knees. It was a velvet green number, with a sweetheart neckline and an hourglass skirt to it, rather stunning really - but Sophie wasn’t used to showing this much skin in Market Chipping.

‘Cariad, you look wonderful,’ Howl assured her as he fiddled with his polka dot bow tie - if he was going to have to fit in at Megan’s party he would at least be able to keep a bit of eccentricity. 

‘Do we really have to go?’ Sophie huffed as she collapsed back dramatically onto their bed.

‘Yes - New Year’s Eve is an important night in my world and if I don’t go now I’ll only get an earful from my sister next time we go round for tea.’ He reasoned, and Sophie knew he was right, but she could never pluck up the courage to face Megan Parry when the moment came.

‘Why don’t we just tell her we’re going on an extended holiday, that way we wouldn’t even have to go to her awkward dinners anymore,’ she smirked.

‘Maybe we could take Mari with us - Neil I can take or leave, besides he wouldn’t appreciate travel with his face in that console all the time.’ They both chuckled, before Howl came and sat on the bed next to his wife. ‘It’ll be fine,’ he squeezed her clammy hand. ‘There’ll be so many guests there, Megan won’t even notice us.’

———-

Howl was right about one thing - when he and his newlywed bride entered the Parry’s modest Welsh residence it was packed to the brim with friendly, tippled faces, so much so that Sophie wondered whether the house might burst at the seams when they arrived. One thing Howl had got wrong, though, was that his sister wouldn’t notice them.

‘Ah, you’re late I see,’ Megan said as she plodded over to welcome the pair.

‘Timezone difference,’ Howl said, half seriously. 

Megan scoffed. ‘Well you’re here now - nice to see you again Sophie,’ she said insincerely. 

‘Uncle Howell, Uncle Howell!’ A small voice called from across the room, before a jubilant Mari bounded her way up to the couple. ‘Mummy said she didn’t think you’d come! She said you’re iwwesponsible and flaky and-‘

‘That’s enough, Mari!’ Her mother interjected placing a hand over the girl’s mouth. ‘Kids!’ Megan gave a forced smile before sauntering off to talk to one of her many other guests, much to Sophie and Howl’s relief.

‘Excuse me miss, have you by chance seen my niece?’ Howl joked, bending down to Mari’s height.

‘But Uncle Howell, it’s me!’

‘No, no, my niece is about this tall, she’s always in her pyjamas, and she’s not nearly as pretty as you.’

‘It IS me!’ Mari jumped up and down on the spot, annoyed.

‘By Jove! It is you - Cariad, you almost had me fooled for a grown-up lady then,’ he picked the girl up in his arms and spun her round above his head, her legs narrowly missing a lampshade.

‘Hewwo Auntie Sophie,’ Mari said once she settled in her uncle’s arms.

‘Hello again Mari, and what a pretty dress you’ve got on,’ Sophie said with that slight awkwardness she always had around children.

‘Fanks,’ she blushed and nestled her head further into Howl’s chest.

‘Don’t you think Sophie looks pretty too, Mari?’ Howl asked, trying to make Sophie feel more comfortable in her non-Ingarian garments. 

‘She always looks beautiful!’ Mari beamed, which put Sophie at ease a little. ‘Put me down now, Uncle Howell, I want to go play with my fwend Abby.’ Mari could be quite demanding when she wanted, a trait she had clearly inherited from her mother. Howl did as much, and soon she had disappeared back into the crowd from whence she came.

‘Ready to face this?’ Howl grabbed his wife’s hand and gave it another encouraging squeeze.

‘Not really - and we have to stay till midnight?’ Sophie whined.

‘Come on,’ Howl smirked and put an arm around her waist before they too descended into the throes of the New Year’s festivities.

———

Sophie hadn’t quite realised how extended Howl’s family was - she’d only really spent time with Megan and Gareth, and of course she’d met his parents at the wedding, but Howl never mentioned swathes of Great Aunts, second cousins, and more -in laws than one could count on two hands. First they had been cornered by Howl’s aunt Dorothy, who made some disapproving remarks about Sophie’s dress, which of course only served to make her more self conscious. Luckily, Howl’s cousin Bryn was on hand to provide some rather uncomfortable comments about how Howl had ‘picked a good one’ and that Sophie had a ‘great arse’ which Bryn had even tried to grab at one point before being ushered away for a stern word or two by Howl. Then there was the gaggle of grandparents, each of whom passed about as much disapproval at Howl and Sophie’s relationship as Megan had when they’d first introduced themselves as a couple. ‘She’s awfully young’, one said; ‘she can’t even speak Welsh’, another groaned; ‘I think she’s English,’ another said horrified - from what Sophie could gather about this world, it seemed that many nations, despite being similar in people, history, and geography, despised one another with surprising virulence (then again, this wasn’t so dissimilar to Sophie’s own world and its many pointless wars). 

At around half past ten, a sharp knock at the door interrupted the festivities, something Sophie was rather glad about as it allowed her to subtly slip away from an awkward silence with Gareth - but her relief lasted only momentarily. As the door swung open, a beastly creature was revealed to be standing in it, with a bony, horse-like skull and white sheet draped over its body. Sophie yelped loudly, which was only met with laughs and jeers from the other guests who appeared to be more familiar with this custom than she was. 

‘Cariad, don’t worry, it’s just the Mari Lwyd,’ Howl found his way over to his wife’s side to comfort her.

‘The Mari what now?’ Sophie looked up, annoyed.

‘It’s an old Welsh tradition, it means the Grey Mare - the Mari Lwyd travels around the village on New Year’s Eve reciting poems and throwing insults at people,’ he began.

’That doesn’t sound very amenable - I thought you said New Year’s Eve was about being kind and thankful?’ Sophie interrupted.

‘Well, yes, but the Mari Lwyd isn’t a mean creature - it’s a lot of fun really, and you’re supposed to insult it too, then after she and her followers come in for a drink!’ He tried his best to sound enthusiastic, but Sophie wasn’t quite grasping the concept.

‘Sounds like an easy way to rob unsuspecting parties of food and drink to me - and does this Mari Lude have to look so horrifying? I haven’t been that terrified since that scarecrow tried to give me a heart attack back at the castle!’ Sophie’s raised voice had attracted a few odd glances from Howl’s family by this point, who were all watching on as Megan and Gareth took part in a Welsh insult battle with the Mari Lwyd and its crew, eventually culminating in a friendly hug and the exchange of a few bottles of beer before the creature moved onto the next house.

By the time Sophie had calmed down, another hour or so had passed, and the entire party seemed to have transitioned from tipsy cheer to full-on drunkenness - even Sophie, at Howl’s suggestion, had found herself feeling a little light-headed after drinking some mulled wine to relax her after her terrifying encounter.

‘You know, this isn’t so bad after all…’ she slurred as she found her way back to the jolly wizard with another glassful of wine.

‘You’re just drunk - it’s the best way to be around the Jenkins family,’ he chuckled and pulled her in by the waist.

‘I might need to go to bed soon though - what time is it?’

‘It’s nearly midnight, we won’t be here much longer cariad - just try not to drink yourself unconscious in that time, okay?’ He laughed, stealing her glass away and taking a rather large sip from it. Sophie would have protested, but this was probably a wise decision on Howl’s part.

‘Alright everyone! Out into the garden!’ Megan’s harsh voice cut into the crowd, and suddenly Sophie found herself being swept along in a fast-moving Welsh wave. Outside, a small bonfire had been lit and Gareth seemed to be fiddling with something behind it. ‘Two minutes till midnight so make sure you all have a sparkler!’ Megan continued, passing around small metal sticks to everyone. Sophie only cocked a confused eyebrow at Howl, but he just laughed, preferring to keep this tradition a surprise. One by one, each guest lit their sparklers on the bonfire before jeering excitedly - whether it was a safe idea for a crowd of drunk people to have access to their own personal fire was not important. As Sophie copied the other guests and lit her sparkler, she shrieked, partly in excitement, partly in fear that she might get burned, twirling the metal rod in the air to make interesting fire patterns that lasted only a fraction of a second before dropping out of the sky. The sparklers reminded her of Calcifer, and she wondered for a moment whether they had fire demons in this world, though she decided against asking Howl, in case she attracted any more strange stares. As the sparklers began to burn out, the atmosphere was cut by the party counting down from ten. 

‘Ten!’

‘What happens at the end of the countdown?’ Sophie said.

‘Nine!’

‘You’ll just have to wait and see,’ Howl smirked.

‘Eight!’

Sophie looked at him suspiciously.

‘Seven!’

‘It’s not another horrible horse creature, is it?’

‘Six!’

‘No, nothing like that,’ he laughed.

‘Five!’

‘You better not scare me again.’

‘Four!’

‘If this scares you then we have a real problem in our relationship.’

‘Three!’

‘You horrible tease!’ She hit him playfully.

’Two!’

‘You do love me though,’ he chuckled.

‘One! Happy New Year!’ The crowd erupted into excited cheers as each couple paired off for a celebratory hug and kiss, followed shortly after by the sound of homemade fireworks popping in the sky, erupting into a colourful rainbow of sparks that never seemed to touch the ground.

’Happy New Year, cariad,’ Howl said as he pulled her in by the waist, leaning down to prepare for a kiss.

‘The fireworks were a little scary, you know,’ Sophie leaned back with a disapproving glare.

‘Just shut up and kiss me you mean, old woman,’ he laughed, and she obliged. While much of the evening’s celebrations had made little sense to her, this one she understood perfectly.


End file.
